Reasons I Care
by Ariel.611
Summary: Mikasa has a private meeting with the infamous Captain Levi following the 57th recon mission. Her objective was simply to apologize to the Captain and attempt to make amends, but Levi does something that surprises her. Will this meeting be a new start for two of Humanities strongest soldiers? One Shot.


"I apologize for disobeying your orders and behaving recklessly sir." Mikasa said in a firm voice as she stood in front of the man she once hated almost as much as the Titans themselves.

It was no secret that Mikasa Ackerman, the woman worth one hundred soldiers and Captain Levi, Humanity's strongest soldier didn't get along. Though she rarely openly voiced her displeasure, the unnatural hardness and general air of hostility that seemed to writhe around her like a black cloud was glaringly obvious whenever the famous Captain was around. Of course only Armin and Eren understood the reasons for her negative attitude but neither of them had been able to convince her to let her grudge go. Every time she saw the Captain's face she remembered his boot grinding into Eren's face and the flames of anger would spark to life once again.

Then the disaster known as the 57th recon mission had happened and once again the blasted pipsqueak had screwed up. The sick feeling of dread that had consumed her as she watched the blonde bitch swallow Eren whole had quickly flashed into white hot rage that sent her chasing the witch down for all she was worth. The last person she expected help from was the beady eyed shorty who had gotten her most precious person into such a predicament in the first place. Even so, he had believed her when she insisted that Eren was still alive, worked with her to save the person who gave her life meaning, and then saved her when she let her emotions get the better of her, resulting in the injury he bore now. She couldn't help the guilt that plagued her especially when seeing Eren whole and relatively unharmed. She needed to make it up to him somehow and figured an apology was the best place to start.

Captain Levi studied her from behind the desk he was seated at and to her surprise pulled a teacup from one of the desk drawers and filled it, using the pot sitting near his own cup.

"Have a seat Akerman." He ordered in his normally curt manner.

She complied, albeit nervously and hesitantly took the tea when pushed it over to her. Generally speaking, she avoided tea since it reminded her of her mother, particularly because the tea everyone else drank was nothing like what she preferred. Even so, Levi's favorite blend of mint was better than she anticipated.

"Tell me about your history with Yeager." He said.

"Excuse me? I'm not sure I understand sir." She confessed putting her tea down.

"Your attachment to him is borderline unhealthy." Levi said in a matter of fact tone. "I've chalked up some of that to just youthful stupidity, but as the person responsible for his care, it'd be helpful to understand why the Hell the two of you are so damn reckless."

Mikasa flinched at the unhealthy remark and did her best not to punch the shorty in the face. After all, he was making an attempt to understand both her and Eren. The least she could do is answer his questions.

She sighed and tugged at her scarf before looking down at her tea cup. "Eren and I met when we were nine years old." She began wrapping her hands around the cup to try to absorb some of the warmth from it. "His father Dr. Yeager had been treating my mother for Pneumonia over the past couple of weeks and was supposed to be coming for a final check up. When a knock came at the door of our house, my dad answered it but it wasn't Dr. Yeager." Her grip on the cup tightened as the blood stained memory filled her mind. "My father's body hit the floor moments later and three men forced their way inside our house. My mother realized what was happening immediately and tried to hold them off as best she could with a pair of scissors. She told me to run but I was so confused I couldn't move. Then, one of the men hit her with an ax and she fell to the ground." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment refusing to meet Levi's eye as she continued. "They stepped over my parents bodies and told me they'd kill me too if I fought back and then hit me, hard enough to knock me out. When I came to, I was tied up lying on the floor of another house. Two of the men were sitting there talking about how much money they hoped to get from selling me to the nobels. I'm the last of my kind so they thought I'd fetch a high price." She chanced a glance up at Levi who was watching her with a look in his eyes she hadn't seen outside the battlefield. Surprised, she continued her story. "There was a knock at the door and I heard a child talking to one of the men. The next thing I knew, the first man was dead on the floor and a boy with brown hair and green eyes that I'd never seen before was attacking the second one with a knife. When the second man was dead he walked over to me and I introduced himself as Eren, Dr. Yeager's son and cut my ropes. When I asked about the third kidnapper, he suddenly appeared and attacked Eren, strangling him. I picked up the knife but was too afraid to do anything. Then Eren told me to fight and somehow everything became clear. I suddenly knew exactly what I needed to do and the next thing I knew, the third man was dead in the ground with the knife in his back. We went outside and waited for Dr. Yeager to show up with the Military Police. After they came I asked him to take me home because I didn't know where else to go. Dr. Yeager offered to take me in and Eren didn't let me refuse."

Levi picked up his cup in the odd way that he always did and sipped his tea. "So that's the incident the MP's were yapping about during the trial." He said in a contemplative tone. "You two made the right decision no matter what anyone says. The MP's are in so deep with the Nobles that they probably would've helped smuggle you into the capital and guarded the damn auction while you were sold if they'd arrived first."

Mikasa blinked in surprise and then nodded. It was nice to see that he didn't like the slimy Military Police either.

"So, what happened after that?" He asked. "That in incident explains some of your attachment to the brat but not your recklessness when it comes to Titans."

She nodded unsurprised by his perceptiveness. "I lived with Eren and his family for about a year after that in Shiganshina. Then the Titans attacked." She studied her reflection in her tea cup. "Eren and I were away from the house with Armin when the Colossal Titan kicked down the gate. Mrs. Yeager was alone at home and so the two of us ran back to the house to get her. When we arrived, we found that the house had been crushed by a massive boulder with her halfway out." Her hands released the cup to clench together. "We tried to lift the rubble off of her but it was no use. She told us to run, told us her legs were crushed so she couldn't go with is even if we managed to free her, she even begged me to make Eren go. A Titan started bearing down on us by then. A fifteen meter with dishwater blonde hair and the creepiest smile plastered across its face. A family friend of the Yeagers, a member of the garrison named Hannes showed up around that time. Armin had found him and sent him to check on us after we took off. He went to fight the Titan but got cold feet. Instead, he came back and picked Eren and me up. Mrs. Yeager made us promise to stay alive before telling us she loved us and sent us away." Her eyes squeezed shut as the memory of Eren screaming, while Mrs. Yeager reached towards them with tears streaming down her face while the Smiling Titan rummaged through the rubble and pulled her broken body from the mess of brick and wood leapt to the forefront of her mind."The Titan grabbed Mrs. Yeager from the rubble and broke her neck like a child snapping the head of a doll and then devoured her in two bites while Eren and I watched." She shuddered as tears misted in her eyes. "We couldn't save her, we could only watch her die."

Levi took a deep breath. "You were only kids. Too weak to save yourselves let alone another adult." He offered.

"That's what Hannes told Eren." She replied before taking a sip of her tea, doing her damndest to control her shaking. "Eren had always wanted to join the Scouts, even before then, but after watching his mother die like that, he was more determined than ever. We met up with Armin who had escaped with his grandfather after the evacuation and the four of us lived together in a cottage on the wastelands. After the failed last ditch harvest, Armin's grandfather was sent out with the rest of the military age adults out into the territory of Wall Maria. Obviously, he never came back."

"That 'mission' was a joke. It was nothing but government authorized herd thinning." Levi snarled.

Mikasa nodded. She agreed wholeheartedly even though she understood why. "The three of us stuck together after that. It was the only way we knew to survive. Between Armin's brain, Eren's tenacity, and my strength we managed to scrape by until we were old enough to join the military. Eren was determined to kill the monsters that had killed his mother, Armin was sick of letting other people fight for him and desperate to see the outside world, and I needed keep the promise I made to Mrs. Yeager in her final moments and keep us all alive. There was no going back for us." She raised her eyes to meet the captain's steady gaze. "I know that I seem obsessive and overprotective but I-" the faces of her father, her mother, Dr. Yeager, Mrs. Yeager, Armin and Eren flashed across her memory in rapid succession bringing tears to her eyes as she hunched over about to break from the strain. "I can't lose them!" She cringed when her voice cracked, mortified she was showing Captain Levi her weakness but she couldn't stop it. "Armin is so smart, he can think his way out of anything and he's not afraid of asking for help and making sacrifices to survive but… Eren is a reckless, impulsive, hothead who always jumps into the middle of everything without thinking. I have to protect him. I promised that I would."

She waited for the rebuke, for the verbal barrage of insults and a detailed list of why she was an inept idiot from the notoriously cold captain. When she heard his chair scrape against the stone and then his slightly uneven gait approaching her, her heart pounded. Was he going to hit her for being too emotional? She flinched when she felt his hand brush the top of her head and then froze when she felt him apply gentle pressure. Hesitantly she raised her eyes and was surprised to see him looking down at her with his normal passive expression but with a little something in his eyes that she couldn't quite understand.

"You've been through a lot haven't you, kiddo?" He said softly. "Every shit storm Yeager gets himself into isn't your fault. Cut yourself some slack."

Mikasa was speechless. The last thing she expected to receive from Captain Levi was compassion and comfort. It wasn't a bad feeling by any means, but it certainly caught her off guard.

A knock sounded at the door and Levi's hand immediately dropped from her head and she quickly picked up her tea cup, determined to finish the drink before leaving his office.

"Who is it?" Levi called out moving back around to sit at his desk.

The door opened and Mikasa immediately jumped to her feet as Commander Erwin walked inside the room. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked.

"No. We were just wrapping up our meeting when you arrived." Levi replied immediately. "You're free to go Ackerman." He said looking at Mikasa "It's close to curfew, I suggest you head to bed."

"Yes sir." She replied. She walked towards the door and then paused. "May I check on Eren?" She asked.

Levi sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "Just be quick about it. You're no good to anyone if you're half dead from exhaustion yourself."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir." She replied bowing before she left the office closing the door behind her.

As she walked to the room where Eren was recovering she realized that Captain Levi was much warmer and understanding than she'd ever given him credit for. She now understood why Eren seemed to respect him so much and resolved to improve their current relationship. Perhaps she wasn't the only one strong enough to protect Eren after all.

*#*

"That was a surprise." Erwin said as he sat down in the seat Mikasa had vacated. "What were you meeting with her about?"

Levi poured himself another cup of tea. "I need to put together a new squad to act as Eren's new babysitters. She's exceptionally talented and extremely close to the kid. I wanted to find out if she could handle the job in spite of their attachment."

"And your conclusion?" Erwin asked pouring himself a glass of water from the pitcher near the teapot.

"Separating the two of them would do more harm than good." He said looking at Hanji's detailed report on Eren's latest Titan Shift noting the phrase 'Mikasa's words echoed in my head' from the record of Eren's recollection of what happened just before he shifted. "At the end of the day, even if she's overbearing, Eren trusts her implicitly and they both seem to work better when in close proximity."

Erwin nodded. "It's almost impossible not to notice how close the two of them and Armin are."

Levi nodded. "Going through Hell together does that to people."

Erwin's brow rose. "Did you by chance find out about the incident the MP's were ranting about during Eren's trial?" He asked.

The dark eyed man nodded and took a sip of tea before elaborating. "Bloody Hell." He hissed. "The bastards were human traffickers who slaughtered the girl's parents in front of her before kidnapping her intending to sell her to the perverted sons of bitches at the capital. Apparently, she's the last of her kind."

Erwin closed his eyes his brow wrinkling in disgust. "Despicable."

Levi shook his head totally appalled by the situation. "Eren tracked her down and killed the first two. She killed the third pig when he went for Eren. The Yeagers took her in after that."

Erwin whistled low and leaned back in his chair. "It's those kinds of incidents that make me think that the monsters within these walls are more disgusting than the Titans outside."

"You can say that again." Levi agreed. "She promised Eren's mother to keep him alive right before watching the woman get munched by a fifteen meter the day Shiganshina fell."

"Damn." Erwin hissed. "No wonder the girl's so protective. It also explains Eren's grudge against the Titans."

Levi nodded. "She's a damn good fighter. She'd already brought the blonde bitch to her knees once before I caught up to them. With a little refinement, and some experience she'll definitely be an unstoppable force."

Erwin nodded as he sipped his water. "She graduated at the top of her class and was assigned to the elites right out of training. A girl rumored to be worth one hundred soldiers." He met Levi's eyes. "With her, Eren the Titan Shifter, and Armin the certified boy genius as your core, you could build a very formidable team."

The captain nodded. "That's true."

After a few moments Erwin spoke again. "So, have you been able to figure it out?" He asked cryptically.

"Figure what out?" Levi replied his eyes narrowing.

"How you and Mikasa are connected." The blonde replied.

"Connected?" Levi repeated cocking a brow.

"The surname Ackerman isn't common." Erwin said studying his most deadly soldier. "Strength, speed, and instinct that is just beyond human comprehension is even less common. Mike mentioned to me the other day that you two carried a similar scent as well."

"What are you getting at?" The captain snarled.

"Are you related to Mikasa Ackerman?" Erwin asked pointedly.

Levi sighed and crossed his legs leaning back in his chair. "Probably." He admitted with a sigh. "My mother talked about sending me to live with a cousin of hers in Shinganshina's mountains but her messages either didn't make it to him or he just didn't want to take me in." He glanced at the door remembering Mikasa's retreating form. "She spoke fondly of her parents though so if I had to guess, it's probably the first. Some piece of shit likely took her money promising to deliver the messages only to pocket it and run or get stopped by the damn MP's on their way."

The blonde nodded and then set his cup down. "The man that raised you… does he know about Mikasa?"

"I don't know." Levi replied glancing out the window. "There's a good chance he does."

"Do you think he'll try to make contact with her?" The commander asked.

"Who can say?" Levi replied. "I lived with him for years and could never quite figure out what the Hell was going on in that damn head of his. If anything, he'd probably congratulate her for committing her first murder so young and then try to compare killing techniques."

Erwin's brow cocked at that. "Murder? Isn't that a bit harsh?"

"She killed another human being. Regardless of the reasons it's still murder even if she was totally justified. I would've killed the piece of shit too." He sipped his tea. "It _was_ dragged into that zoo of a trial after all." He pointed out.

The blonde sighed. "I suppose that's true." He admitted glancing at the clock. "I should probably be going. I have four meetings tomorrow."

Levi nodded. "I'm going to make sure cadet attitude is in bed." He said rising to his feet wincing at the flash of pain that skated up his leg.

"No. Head to bed. I'll make sure Miss. Ackerman makes it to her own quarters." Erwin said motioning to the shorter man's injury. "There's no need to aggravate that further."

Levi sighed. "Fine." He muttered downing the rest of his tea and stacking the cups and saucers neatly on the edge of his desk.

"I'll see you in the morning." Erwin called out before shutting the office door behind him.

Levi approached the door and locked it firmly before moving to the second door in the room, one that connected to his private bedroom and stepped inside. With meticulous precision, he removed his clothes tossing the dirty garments into a laundry basket while his harness was dropped carefully over a nearby chair for easy access if needed next to his small knives were placed inside his bedside table drawer while a fourth was slipped into the custom made sheath sewn into his pillow case. Sleeping with a knife in easy reach was one habit from his days spent in the slums of the underground that he had never even tried to break.

He walked over to where a small pitcher of water, a washcloth, and basin sat on a table and quickly used it to wash his body. Once he was satisfied, he slipped on a nightshirt, put out the lamps, and slipped into the crisp, clean sheets of his bed. A groan left his lips as all of his muscles relaxed sending a mixture of pain and pleasure signals to his brain. His eyes closed and his mind replayed the conversation he'd had with Mikasa Ackerman that night. Her life mirrored his own so eerily he wondered if traumatic childhoods were embedded in Ackerman DNA as much as their talent for killing was. Regardless, he felt he understood her better. Why she'd glared at him with absolute hatred in her eyes when he'd brutalized Eren in the courtroom. Why she'd been so desperate to save the boy after the female Titan had captured him. He knew that her devotion to the Titan Shifter would likely never disappear. Even if she mellowed out over the next few years as he was certain she would, there was a part of her that would always put her life on the line to protect him. The best thing Levi could do for both of them was train her hard. Prepare her for the worst so that if and when it happened, she wouldn't have to exchange her life for Yeager's. A small smirk touched his lips at the prospect. It had been quite a while since he'd found another comrade with such potential. He was quite looking forward to the challenge.

"Get some sleep Ackerman. You're going to need it." He muttered before falling asleep, his dreams warm and bloodless for the first time in years.

 **Author's Note: This is a little different from my previous one shots but I wanted to post it anyway. I love seeing the Ackerman's together fighting or otherwise and always thought that Levi and Mikasa had such a unique relationship. Seeing them go from almost mortal enemies (on Mikasa's end) to unstoppable, killer, combo was awesome. Anyway, thanks for stopping by!**


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